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Tim Thomas
Tim Thomas= '''Timothy James Thomas, Jr.''' (born April 15, 1974) is an American professional [[Ice hockey|ice hockey]] [[Goaltender|goaltender]] with the [[Boston Bruins]] of the [[National Hockey League]] (NHL). Raised in [[Davison, MI]], Thomas played [[College hockey|college hockey]] for the [[University of Vermont]] for four years, from 1993–1997, during which he was drafted 217th overall by the [[Quebec Nordiques]] in the [[1994 NHL Entry Draft]]. He played for several years in the minor leagues and [[Europe]], before making it to the NHL at age 28, with the [[Boston Bruins]]. He finally emerged as the Bruins' starting goaltender at age 32. Thomas is a two-time winner of the [[Vezina Trophy]] ([[2008–09 NHL season|2009]] and [[2010–11 NHL season|2011]]) as the league's best goaltender, and was a member of Team USA in the [[2010 Winter Olympics]] in [[Vancouver]].[1] Thomas won the [[Conn Smythe Trophy]] for [[Most Valuable Player]] in the [[2011 Stanley Cup playoffs]]. Winning it, along with the [[Stanley Cup]], at age 37, he became the oldest player and second American-born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy in NHL history, after [[Brian Leetch]].[2] [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] Playing career [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] College hockey Thomas played four seasons (1993–97) of [[College hockey|college hockey]] for the [[University of Vermont]], posting an 81–43–15 record to go with a 2.70 GAA and .924 save percentage. He ranks third in the [[NCAA Division I]] record book in career saves (3,950). He led the nation in save percentage in 1996 (.924) and helped UVM's Catamounts to NCAA tournament appearances in his final two seasons, including a berth in the 1996 [[NCAA Frozen Four]] (a program first).[3] He was a two-time All-[[ECAC Hockey|ECAC Conference]] selection and a two-time [[National Collegiate Athletics Association|NCAA]] East All-American.[4] He ranks first all-time amongst Vermont goalies in games played (140), wins (81) and saves (3,950). At Vermont, Thomas played on the same team as [[Tampa Bay Lightning]] right wing [[Martin St. Louis]]. [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] Early pro years Completing his four-year tenure at Vermont, Thomas played briefly for the [[Birmingham Bulls]] of the [[East Coast Hockey League]] (ECHL) and [[Houston Aeros]] of the [[International Hockey League (1945–2001)|International Hockey League]] (IHL) in 1997–98, before transferring overseas mid-season to [[HIFK (ice hockey)|HIFK]] of the Finnish [[SM-Liiga]]. Thomas played 18 games with a [[Save percentage|save percentage]] of .947 as the team advanced through the playoffs to defeat [[Ilves (ice hockey)|Ilves]] in the finals and win the [[Kanada-malja|Finnish championship]]. After signing with the [[Edmonton Oilers]] on June 4, 1998,[4] Thomas initially moved to the [[American Hockey League|AHL]] the following season with the [[Hamilton Bulldogs]], where he played 15 games, before again transferring to HIFK. Thomas recorded a .917 save percentage in 14 games as HIFK made it to the league finals once more but finished as runners-up to [[TPS (ice hockey)|TPS]]. In 1999–2000, Thomas returned once again to North America to play for the [[Detroit Vipers]] of the IHL, then spent the next season with [[AIK Hockey|AIK]] of [[Sweden]]'s [[Elitserien]]. In [[2001–02 NHL season|2001]], #30 Thomas joined the [[Boston Bruins]] organization, but chose to continue playing in Europe, spending his first full SM-liiga season in 2001–02 with [[Kärpät]] of [[Oulu]]. Although the team didn't get far in the playoffs, Thomas played a successful season of 32 games with a .925 save percentage. [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] AHL seasons, NHL debut Beginning in [[2002–03 AHL season|2002–03]], Thomas played his initial two seasons with Boston's AHL affiliate, the [[Providence Bruins]]. He made his [[National Hockey League]] (NHL) debut with the Bruins during the [[2002–03 NHL season|2002–03 season]], appearing in four games total, with a .907 save percentage and a 3–1 record. Thomas recorded his first NHL win in his league debut with the Bruins on October 19, 2002, in a 31-save, 4–3 win against the [[Edmonton Oilers]].[4] [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] Return to Finland As a result of the one-season duration [[2004–05 NHL lockout|NHL lockout]] in North America, in 2004–05 Thomas joined [[Jokerit]] of the SM-Liiga, his fourth stint in [[Finland]]. He played in all games of the season except one, 54 games in total, and racked up a league-high .946 save percentage. He also surpassed the previous record of 13 [[Shutout|shutouts]] in the league by achieving 15 shutouts during the regular season. Thomas continued to perform in the playoffs, where he played 12 games with a .938 save percentage. The team was unable to defeat Kärpät in the finals, however, and Thomas was awarded his second silver medal in the SM-liiga. He received the [[Lasse Oksanen trophy]] (as the league's best player) and the [[Kultainen kypärä]] award (as the league's best player award as voted by the players), becoming the first [[Jokerit]] player to win the award since [[Teemu Selänne]]. [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] Boston Bruins [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] 2005–2006 [[Enlarge]]Tim Thomas after a 2006 gameIn August 2005, Thomas signed to play with Jokerit for the 2005–06 season, but his contract included an NHL option and on September 14, one day before the regular season in the SM-liiga started, Thomas announced he had signed with the Boston Bruins, leaving Jokerit with rookie goaltender [[Joonas Hallikainen]] as their sole goaltender. Eventually Jokerit used three North American goaltenders ([[Karl Goehring]], [[Steve Passmore]] and [[Tom Askey]]) that season but missed the playoffs. When he returned to North America, he was assigned to [[Providence Bruins|Providence]] of the AHL out of training camp. However, as Boston suffered injuries to their two goalies [[Andrew Raycroft]] and [[Hannu Toivonen]], Thomas earned his first call-up to the NHL in three years and took over as the Bruins starting goalie, completing the [[2005–06 NHL season|2005–06 season]] with a 12–13–7 record, 2.77 [[Goals against average|goals against average]] (GAA), .917 save percentage and his first NHL [[Shutout|shutout]]. As a result, Thomas was awarded the Boston Bruins 7th Player Award, voted by the fans as having gone beyond expectations. In the off-season, Thomas was re-signed by the Bruins to a three-year deal. [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] 2006–2008 Although Boston's previous starter, [[Andrew Raycroft]], was traded to the [[Toronto Maple Leafs]] in the off-season, Thomas began the [[2006–07 NHL season|2006–07 season]] as the Bruins' backup, behind [[Hannu Toivonen]] instead. However, as Toivonen struggled, Thomas was again promoted as the Bruins' starting goaltender, eventually posting a 30–29–4 record with a .904 save percentage. He won the 7th Player Award for the second consecutive season and became the first goalie in team history to win the award twice. During the summer of 2007, Thomas began a [[Yoga as exercise or alternative medicine|yoga]]-based physical conditioning program to increase his flexibility and strength, a concept that would greatly increase his abilities during the [[2007–08 NHL season]] and onwards.[5] {C [[Enlarge]]Thomas stretching prior to a game in November 2008On July 1, 2007, the Bruins acquired goaltender [[Emmanuel Fernandez|Manny Fernandez]] from the [[Minnesota Wild]] and later traded Thomas' previous backup, Toivonen, to the [[St. Louis Blues (ice hockey)|St. Louis Blues]]. Many hockey analysts presumed that Thomas would support Fernandez as a backup goaltender once again for the [[2007–08 NHL season|2007–08 season]].[''[[Wikipedia:Citation needed|citation needed]]''] However, as Fernandez went down to injury early in the season, Thomas seized the opportunity and once again emerged as the Bruins' starting goalie. He was selected for his first [[National Hockey League All-Star Game|NHL All-Star Game]] on January 22, 2008 as a replacement for [[Martin Brodeur]] and played in the third period of the game, stopping 14 of 18 shots. Thomas was credited with the win, as the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 8–7. Early in the [[2008–09 NHL season|2008–09 season]], Thomas became the first Bruins goalie to record back-to-back shutouts since [[Byron Dafoe]] in [[1998–99 NHL season|1999]], winning 1–0 games against the [[Edmonton Oilers]] on October 27, 2008 and the [[Vancouver Canucks]] on October 28.[6] His overall shutout streak came to end the next game at 154:43 minutes against the [[Calgary Flames]] on October 30.[7] In late November, Thomas missed a few games due to an illness. He was chosen to play in his second [[57th National Hockey League All-Star Game|All-Star Game]] in 2009 and was once again the winning goaltender for the Eastern Conference, beating the Western Conference 12–11 in a shootout (the first time the All-Star Game required the tie-breaker since 2005).[8] A month later, on February 26, 2009, Thomas recorded his 100th NHL win, in a 6–0 shutout against the [[Anaheim Ducks]].[8] [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] 2008–2010 On April 2, 2009 Thomas agreed to a four-year extension with the Bruins, through the [[2012–13 NHL season|2012–13 season]]. The contract will see him make $6 million the first two seasons, then $5 million and $3 million the final two seasons for an average annual salary of $5 million.[9] Two days later, on April 4, he posted his career-high fifth shutout of the season in a 1–0 win against the [[New York Rangers]], clinching the top spot in the [[Eastern Conference (NHL)|Eastern Conference]], Boston's first title since [[2001–02 NHL season|2001–02]].[10] His strong play allowed the Bruins to sweep the [[Montreal Canadiens]] in the first round of the [[2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs]], but the Bruins bowed out to the [[Carolina Hurricanes]] in seven games in Round 2. On June 18, 2009, Thomas was awarded the [[Vezina Trophy]] at the NHL awards, beating out Minnesota Wild netminder [[Niklas Bäckström]] and the Blue Jackets' rookie goaltender [[Steve Mason (ice hockey)|Steve Mason]]. He led the NHL with his 2.10 goals-against average and .933 save percentage. Thomas started for the Bruins in the [[2010 Winter Classic|3rd NHL Winter Classic]] on January 1, 2010. The game, held at [[Fenway Park]] in [[Boston]], resulted in a 2–1 overtime victory over the visiting [[Philadelphia Flyers]]. But Thomas suffered a drop-off in form during the regular season, posting just a 17–18–8 record, albeit with a still-strong 2.56 GAA. He did not play at all in the playoffs, as [[Tuukka Rask]] played all the games for Boston. The Bruins won their Conference quarter-final series, and led the Philadelphia Flyers three games to none in the Conference semi-final. But Boston then lost the next four games to drop the series; the Flyers became just the third team in NHL history (after the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders) to win a series after losing the first three games. Named to his third straight [[NHL All-Star Game]] in 2011 – the game was not played in 2010 due to the [[Winter Olympics]] – Thomas became the first goaltender in league history to earn the win in three consecutive All-Star Games.[11] [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] 2010–2011 and Stanley Cup win In the 2010–2011 season, following off-season hip surgery during the summer of 2010, Tim Thomas broke the NHL record for save percentage, beating [[Dominik Hasek]]'s record of .937, with a .938 percentage. On Friday, April 22, 2011, Thomas was named a finalist for the 2010–2011 Vezina Trophy, which he won on Wednesday, June 22, 2011. On Friday, May 27, 2011, Thomas posted a shutout victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, sending the Boston Bruins to their first Stanley Cup appearance since 1990. In the Finals, Thomas again posted a shutout victory in Game 7 against the Vancouver Canucks. He was selected as the [[Conn Smythe Trophy]] winner, being only the second American-born NHL player to ever win the award, and the first in 17 years. During the Bruins' playoff run, he set the record for most saves in a single postseason with 798 and the most saves in a Stanley Cup series with 238, and broke [[Frank McCool]]'s 66-year old record of fewest goals allowed in a 7-game Stanley Cup Finals, allowing only eight goals total (for an all-time record .967 save percentage in the Stanley Cup Finals). Thomas also became the first goaltender ever to post a shutout in a Game 7 on the road. At 37 years, 62 days, Thomas is the oldest recipient of the Conn Smythe Trophy, the first American-born winner of the trophy since [[Brian Leetch]] in 1994, and the first American-born goaltender to win the award.[12] [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] International play During Thomas' [[College hockey|college]] career with the [[University of Vermont]], he was named to [[United States national men's ice hockey team|Team USA]] twice for the [[World Ice Hockey Championships|World Championships]]. Following his sophomore year, he was chosen for the [[1995 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships|1995 World Championships]], but did not appear in any games as the United States finished in sixth place. He was chosen for the tournament for the second consecutive year in [[1996 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships|1996]] and made his international debut, playing in 21 minutes for one game, allowing one goal. Thomas picked up his first medal as the United States won bronze. After graduating from the college program, Thomas was named to Team USA for the [[1998 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships|1998 World Championships]] following his rookie professional season and played his first full international game. However, the United States finished a disappointing twelfth. Thomas would not make another World Championships appearance until [[2005 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships|2005]], where he was named to Team USA in another limited role, not appearing in any games behind starter [[Rick DiPietro]] as they failed to earn a medal. Established as an [[National Hockey League|NHL]] starter following the [[2007–08 NHL season]], Thomas was named to his fifth World Championships in [[2008 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships|2008]]. He appeared in three games before suffering a groin injury, splitting starts with [[Robert Esche]] and posting a 1.50 GAA with one shutout against [[Latvia national ice hockey team|Latvia]] in the preliminaries. Team USA finished in sixth place. On January 1, 2010, Thomas was selected to be a member of the U.S. men's hockey team for the [[Ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics|2010 Vancouver Olympics]]. On February 26, 2010, Thomas made his Olympic debut in the USA – Finland semifinal, entering the game with approximately 11:30 remaining in the 3rd period and a 6–0 lead. He replaced [[Ryan Miller]] to prevent any chance of injury to the American starter. [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] Personal Thomas and wife Melissa[13] have three children: daughters Kiley, born August 2000 and Kelsey, born May 2005, and son Keegan, born September 2006.[14] Thomas is a [[Republican Party (USA)|Republican]] and has stated that the person he would most like to have dinner with is conservative TV pundit [[Glenn Beck]].[15] After winning the [[Stanley Cup]] in 2011, Thomas skipped the traditional victors' meet-and-greet with President [[Barack Obama]] at the [[White House]] on Monday, January 23, 2012; he was the only active Bruin to not attend.[16] He released a statement regarding his absence: "I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People. This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government. Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL. This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT"[17] [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] Awards '''College''' *Named to the [[ECAC Hockey|ECAC]] First All-Star Team in 1995 and 1996. *Named to the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] East All-American Second Team in 1995. *Named to the NCAA East All-American First Team in 1996. Source: [http://www.hockeygoalies.org/bio/thomast.html Tim Thomas on HockeyGoalies.org] '''[[SM-Liiga]]''' *Awarded the [[Urpo Ylönen trophy]] (best goaltender) in 1998. *Awarded the [[Kultainen kypärä]] award (best player as voted by the players) in 2005. *Awarded the [[Lasse Oksanen trophy]] (best player) in 2005 – first non-European to win the award. '''[[National Hockey League|NHL]]''' *4-time [[National Hockey League All-Star Game|All-Star]] game participant ([[56th National Hockey League All-Star Game|2008]], [[57th National Hockey League All-Star Game|2009]], [[58th National Hockey League All-Star Game|2011]], and [[59th National Hockey League All-Star Game|2012]]) *2009 [[William M. Jennings Trophy]] Winner along with teammate Manny Fernandez for fewest goals allowed by team goaltenders *2009 [[Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award]] Winner for best save percentage amongst NHL goaltenders (minimum 25 games started) – .933 *2009 and 2011 [[Vezina Trophy]] Winner of the NHL's top goaltender award *Named to the [[NHL All-Star Team|NHL First All-Star Team]] in 2009 and 2011. *2011 [[Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award]] Winner for best save percentage amongst NHL goaltenders (minimum 25 games started) – .938 (all-time record) *2011 [[Conn Smythe Trophy]] winner *2011 [[Stanley Cup]] winner *First goaltender to win the Stanley Cup, Vezina, and Conn Smythe trophies in the same season since [[Bernie Parent]] for the [[1974–75 NHL season|1974–75]] season, and Thomas also won the [[Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award]] in the same season as the Stanley Cup, Vezina, and Conn Smythe wins, becoming the first goaltender to accomplish that feat in one season. '''Other''' *2011 [[ESPY]] award winner, [[Best NHL Player ESPY Award|Best NHL Player]] *2011 [[ESPY]] award winner, [[Best Championship Performance ESPY Award|Best Championship Performance]] [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] Hockey camps *Tim Thomas runs several ice hockey camps in the Northeast United States during the NHL off-season for both goaltenders and skaters.[18] [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] Career statistics [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] Regular season Figures in '''''boldface italics''''' are NHL records. [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] Playoffs [[[Tim Thomas (ice hockey)|edit]]] International